Validating and Troubleshooting ROM Monitor Software Installation

The ROM Monitor (ROMMON) is a bootstrap program that initializes the hardware and boots the Cisco IOS XR software when you power on or reload a router. The ROMMON software is stored on the bootflash and the ROMMON variables are stored on NVRAM.

See the following sections for information on troubleshooting ROM Monitor versions and upgrading and downgrading ROM Monitor:

Note A copy of the ROMMON software exists on each card. If a card fails to boot the Cisco IOS XR software, the ROMMON software takes control and places the card in ROMMON mode. Because a card in ROMMON mode is not running the Cisco IOS XR software, that card will be unavailable for normal router operations.

Use the following troubleshooting tips when installing ROMMON software:

•If any node cannot be upgraded successfully or if you see error messages similar to the following message, try reformatting the bootflash and then repeat the upgrade procedure. See Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router for information on the bootflash upgrade procedure.

Boothelper software is additional software that extends the capabilities of ROMMON on a Cisco XR 12000 Series Router. With Boothelper, ROMMON can load images from compact flash and TFTP servers. Without Boothelper, ROMMON can only load images from a local storage device (disk0, disk1, and bootflash).

See Upgrading from Cisco IOS to Cisco IOS XR Software on the Cisco 12000 Series Router for information on the diskboot process, copying a new Cisco IOS boothelper image to bootflash, and performing a diskboot.

Note Before being able to tftpboot an image on the performance route processor (PRP), you need to configure the IOS boot helper with a unique IP address. It is also recommended that a unique MAC address is assigned. The unique MAC address allows the parallel boot of multiple RPs without creating network addressing conflicts. This configuration must be done for each RP in the system. To assign unique MAC addresses, it is suggested to look at the burned-in address (BIA) address, and change the last hex digit to the slot number. This change ensures that each slot in the system has a unique MAC address. Note that this MAC address is only used temporarily during the tftp operation, and will change once Cisco IOS XR software takes over.

The ROM Monitor (ROMMON) software is known by many names such as boot software and boot image. On Cisco XR 12000 Series Routers, the Boothelper software is different from the ROMMON software. For more information on ROMMON and Boothelper software, see Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router.

Although it is distributed with routers that use the Cisco IOS XR software, ROMMON is a separate program from the Cisco IOS XR software. During normal startup, the ROMMON initializes the cards, and then control passes to the Cisco IOS XR software. After the Cisco IOS XR software takes over, ROMMON is no longer in use.

A copy of the ROMMON software exists on each card. If a card fails to boot theCisco IOS XR software, the ROMMON software takes control and places the card in ROMMON mode. Because a card in ROMMON mode is not running the Cisco IOS XR software, that card will be unavailable for normal router operations.

When the Designated Secure Domain Router System Controller (DSDRSC) in an SDR is placed in ROMMON mode, the router operations are transferred to the standby DSDRSC (if available). If both the primary and standby DSDRSCs are in ROMMON mode, then the router operations cease since the Cisco IOS XR software is no longer running.

Caution Ensure you have the correct ROMMON firmware on your system. See the
Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router for the ROMMON firmware requirements and information on upgrading and downgrading ROMMON firmware and information on overriding a ROMMON boot block.

To verify and troubleshoot the ROMMON version on systems running Cisco IOS XR software, perform the following procedure.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. show version

2. show diag | inc ROM|NODE|PLIM

3. more nvram:/classic-rommon-var

4. Place the designated shelf controller (DSC) in ROMMON mode:

a. admin

b. config register 0x0

c. exit

d. reload

5. set --

6. environment variable(s)

sync

7. Exit ROMMON mode:

a. confreg 0x102

b. reset

8. Contact Cisco Technical Support if the problem is not resolved.

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

show version

Example:

RP/0/0/CPU0:router# show version

Displays information about the router, including image names, uptime, and other system information.

Verify that the expected ROMMON version is installed. If the version is not as expected, see Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router for information on upgrading or downgrading the ROM Monitor version.

Step 2

show diag | inc ROM|NODE|PLIM

Example:

RP/0/0/CPU0:router# show diag | inc ROM|NODE|PLIM

Displays details about the hardware and software on each node in a router.

Verify that the ROMMON version on each node is as expected. If the version is not as expected on a node, see Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router for information on upgrading or downgrading the ROM Monitor version.

Step 3

more nvram:/classic-rommon-var

Example:

RP/0/0/CPU0:router# more nvram:/classic-rommon-var

Displays the configured environment variables.

Ensure that the environment variable setting are as expected. If the environment variables are not as expected, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4 .

admin

config-register 0x0

exit

reload

Example:

RP/0/0/CPU0:router# admin

RP/0/0/CPU0:router(admin)# config-register 0x0

RP/0/0/CPU0:router(admin)# exit

RP/0/0/CPU0:router# reload

Places the DSC in ROMMON.

Step 5

set

Example:

rommon B1 > set

Displays the configured environment variables.

Step 6

environment variable(s)

sync

Example:

rommon B2> IP_ADDRESS=1.1.1.1

rommon B3> IP_SUBNET_MASK=255.255.254.0

rommon B4> DEFAULT_GATEWAY=1.1.0.1

rommon B5> sync

Allows you to specify the environment variable settings.

Environment variable settings are entered in capital letters, followed by a definition. To save the current environment variable settings, enter the sync command. See Cisco IOS XR ROM Monitor Guide for the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router for more information on changing the environment variable settings.